Electronic gaming systems (EGSs) are well known. Video lottery terminals and the like (VLTs), slot machines and other gaming devices are widely distributed in many jurisdictions and are located in many different establishments. The operation of EGSs is regulated, with government jurisdictions controlling and monitoring the deployment and operation of EGSs within a particular jurisdiction. Government controls are generally required to ensure that the operation of the EGS machines is in accordance with jurisdictional law and, more specifically, to ensure that revenues derived from the EGS are properly tracked and that the machines and their software cannot or have not been tampered with.
There is often a social cost associated with gaming in general. While the majority of gamblers using EGSs or casinos use gambling strictly as a casual form of entertainment and can afford the time spent gambling and monetary gambling losses, there are a significant number of gamblers that develop addictive or otherwise problematic behavior from excessive time spent gambling and/or gambling losses. Excessive time spent gambling and excessive gambling losses over both short and long term time frames may directly or indirectly lead to many different social problems. Gambling losses may be realized during short term gambling stints or progressively over a longer period of time.
As a result, there are various pressures to minimize the number of problem gamblers and the negative social effects that problem gamblers may cause. In the past, casinos and bar establishments having gaming and gaming machines expend considerable resources monitoring and controlling individuals that may be considered problem gamblers. These efforts generally focus on those individuals who display behavior that may be disruptive to other gambling patrons. Thus, while certain individuals can become aware to personnel at individual establishments and be excluded from that establishment, this monitoring activity is highly subjective and may only be effective for certain types of physical behavior and only after the problem has manifested itself.
For some individuals, problem gambling behavior does not manifest itself in any outwardly detectable manner at the establishment. For these individuals, problem behavior may be directly related to the time-spent gambling or to the amount of money spent during gaming. For these individuals, problem behavior may manifest itself indirectly and away from the establishment.
Other problems that may exist include underage play where minors access EGSs without being properly screened by the establishment.
As a result, there has been a need for a system that enables an effective compromise between the revenue interests of the jurisdiction and which also enables some gamblers to be excluded from gaming in an effective, yet unobtrusive manner.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/327,402 and PCT application CA2003/001983, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, describe a responsible gaming system including EGSs that enable individual player identification, with the potential for certain restrictions to be imposed upon individual gamblers. Time limits and money losses over both short and longer time frames can be set by the gambler, by the establishment, or by regulators to limit the daily, weekly, or monthly amounts of time and/or money spent during EGS usage.
It is recognized that implementing such responsible gaming systems through the purchase of specialized EGSs requires the establishment to incur substantial expense in replacing existing EGS units, many of which would otherwise remain operational for several years. Many such establishments may believe that the replacement cost would outweigh the potential societal benefit in replacing existing EGS units with responsible gaming devices, thereby creating a barrier to the adoption of the responsible gaming systems.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a device or system to enable the conversion of existing VLT units to responsible gaming systems.